Albemarle hit by ransomware attack, employee data at risk

ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Albemarle County is investigating a recent ransomware attack that disrupted its information technology (IT) systems in June, exposing sensitive personal data and local and school employees.

On the morning of Wednesday, June 11, the county found issues with its IT systems and realized they were the victim of a ransomware incident, according to a release shared by the county on Thursday, July 10.

However, according to the county, the incident began late in the afternoon on Tuesday, June 10, and was perpetrated overnight, when information in the county systems may have "been inappropriately accessed and/or obtained by an unauthorized user," per the county.

Albemarle County said that state and federal law enforcement agencies were notified, and they are cooperating with their investigations into the cybersecurity matter. Data of local government and school employees were "impacted by the incident," according to the release.

The county reportedly had appropriate backups in place to restore the hacked data, and the ransom was not paid to cybercriminals, according to officials.

As the investigation into this incident continues -- particularly pinpointing and confirming the affected data -- the county said that the data that was illegally accessed may include information including name, date of birth, social security numbers and other similar identifiers.

As a precaution, the county is offering complimentary credit monitoring, fraud consultation and identity theft restoration services to residents and employees through Kroll.

"To provide peace of mind, and because trust is the foundation of everything we do, we are offering free credit monitoring and identity protection resources to county residents and employees. Virginia law does not require us to take this step, but we believe it is our responsibility to go beyond the minimum. We recognize how important personal information is and take our responsibility to protect it seriously. While we have no evidence that anyone’s personal information has been misused, we want our community to feel reassured and supported." Albemarle County

Albemarle said it completed a review of the systems affected and "implemented additional safeguards," ensuring that the trust that county residents have in the community is a top priority.